I can easily think of times I likely should have rested or slowed down but wanted to keep a number high.

For me, metrics are a net positive, but I've often done counterproductive things because of them.

I recalled one . . . silly and not on lists: Run Fatboy Run

This was a surprise to me:

"While many newer distance runners tend to focus on flashy long runs, the distance of the longest run was not strongly correlated with a BQ. Comparing BQ runners and all other athletes, the distance of the longest run was 20 to 22 miles across each marathon. But, the base mileage was higher for BQ runners, bearing in mind that base volume matters more than the distance of any long run. BQ runners at CIM averaged 65 miles during their peak week, while the rest of the field averaged 50 mpw. Similarly, Chicago BQers averaged 57 miles during peak week, compared to the rest of the field’s 41 mpw peak week."

Well, the article consists of interviews with some elite runners . . . so, I understood what they meant.

Yes. One we trusted. Haven't had that since I stopped cycle racing. The more I've learned and experienced, the harder it is for me to trust a coach.

As the Born To Run guy says, mind and body don't speak the same languages! Often true for me. I too, have run myself into stress fractures while certain I was listening to my body.

The overtime blurb:

New York Times Best Seller

Over 5 million copies sold

For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him The Fittest (Real) Man in America.

In Can't Hurt Me, he shares his astonishing life story and reveals that most of us tap into only 40% of our capabilities. Goggins calls this The 40% Rule, and his story illuminates a path that anyone can follow to push past pain, demolish fear, and reach their full potential.

Coros Pace 2. Inexpensive (relatively) and great for running.

I'd recommend Trainer Road paired with one of the cycling platforms -- you can do the workouts while "riding" on group rides or solo on a virtual cycling platform, e.g. Zwift (pay), IndieVelo (free), or MyWhoosh (free.) Zwift has more "carrots" and many, many more people and groups than other platforms.

I use IndieVelo, because I tired of Zwift's worlds and my favorite type of group rides went away. I found the routes, worlds, and real people quite engaging for a long time. I suspect you'd find Zwift more engaging than other platforms. Zwift has training plans for all sorts of goals.

IndieVelo is mostly bots, but there are some real people, and the bots are more like real riders than on other platforms. The interface is much more intuitive and easy to use than MyWhoosh (horrible interface) or Zwift.

The nice thing about Trainer Road is that it will give you a plan and change the plan and workouts as you go along. That auto-customizing felt good to me, and I made some fitness gains. Using Training Peaks requires that you add a training plan from someplace -- a coach or some free one you find. I didn't use a coach and felt like it was dull and clumsy. Other people love it.

I admire athletes who can do amazing feats, but this seems crazy. Crazy, as in, someone should have stopped her from continuing.

Obviously, I need to change my name to Kip Something!

Pretty cool.

I found the Hanson advanced plan great until week 14. At that point, the wheels quickly came off. Lots of pain in places that I hadn't had pain ever before, and pain of a kind I couldn't identify. Despite days off, no apparent healing, just more deterioration.

The book says running on tired legs is part of the training, but just how tired is productive v. disastrous is hard to determine. The fact that you are concerned likely means you are too tired.

I greatly reduced the miles and the load, but I wasn't certain even the day before the race that I would start. I ran fine, though I hadn't eaten right and didn't eat well during the race. My time was very good for me.

Two days after the race, walking was still hard. It took me nearly three weeks before I could run pain free again. That sort of post race pain was new to me.

I suspect you've done enough training to do quite well at the race. Switching to the easier program will build on that, just at a slower rate than the advanced program. AND you can practice eating and drinking, which is what hammered you last time.

The advice to drop down to the beginner plan, which I recall the book says is not really for beginners, is good. That will give you a chance to stay with a program and practice race nutrition before the event.

I have my Strava set to private. I only make virtual races public.

But I am really only using Strava to collect data and pass that data on.

One surprising thing on that list: A movie about my HS x-country team! Not my year but didn't know there was a movie about it at all.

I really like my Coros Pace 2. Relatively inexpensive. Great for running and cycling. Breadcrumb navigation. Long battery life.

I second the Coros Pace comment. I have the Pace 2. I like everything about it - smaller size, light, long time between charges, training plans, bread crumb navigation.

My only complaint is no ski modes but they are said to be on the way.

Good review of Pace 2: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/...

This is a real achievement. Congratulations!

When I go to a running shop, when we start talking about actual shoes, I say, "I'm on a budget.". The sales people respect what my budget is, and if we can't get into the price range I need, they have always been courteous in telling me that. They want customers to feel welcome coming back.

BTW, in the US, Brooks online has a liberal return policy.

I ran my first one on Saturday. Very fun for all the reasons @cpamoa sums up. Also very nice to have nearly instant results and free!

There aren't all the many outside the UK and Ireland. Not sure why that is. Seems as if the US should have a bazillion of them.

The Hansons Method

https://www.runtothefinish.com/...

Consider this your Cliff Notes version of Hanson running plans overall. These are the key concepts of the Hanson Method for half marathon and marathon training:

• High mileage
  

• 6 days of running
  

• Speed emphasis early in the training plan
  

• No planned cross training – in fact, they seem to do very little strength training
  

• Cumulative fatigue – “The development of fatigue through the long term effects of training which results in in a profound increase in running strength”
  

• 3 “SOS” (Something Of Substance) workouts per week–speed work, tempo run at goal race pace and long run
  

• Longest run is 16 miles for most people
  

Obviously you may have heard of this training program thanks to the incredible success of Desi Linden. She gives them a lot of credit, but also noted that she reached a point where this wasn’t the best option for her any more